The champion pinned her with his pale blue eyes. She didn't know how they could look so clear through the blur of the spirits' bodies, but they were sharp and bright. "You're strong."
"Ludicrously strong," the guard put in. She poked one of the spirits with the tip of her sword. "These spirits refuse to budge. We hurt them, and they still stayed."
"I told them to hold you here," Naelin said.
"Yeah, a while ago, and then you left," the guard said. "Your command should have faded, but look"-another poke-"freakily obedient. I've never seen anything like it, at least in someone who's not a queen. Or even trained."
"She's right," the champion said. "You have more raw power than I've ever seen, and if I know that, you can be certain the spirits do too. They aren't going to leave you alone, no matter where you run."
Naelin clutched Erian and Llor harder, until Llor squawked. She forced herself to loosen her grip. "And if I order them to leave me alone? If I'm so very powerful, they'll obey, right?"
"Or they'll leave the entire village, and no plants will grow, no fires will start, and you'll destroy your home," the champion said. From the corner, Corinda chirped, a half moan half cry. "You're untrained. That makes you dangerous."
Naelin's mouth felt dry. She swallowed and tried to form words.
"I have a bargain for you, Mistress Naelin," he said. "Come with me to Mittriel. Meet the queen. Talk to her. And I will teach you to control your power."
Suddenly, Erian gripped her arm. "Mama, he wants you to be an heir?"
He smiled. "That's right. Your mother can be a hero."
Both Erian and Llor burst into tears. "No! Mama, no!" Llor wailed. Erian clung to her and cried, "No, Mama, the heirs died! They all died! I don't want you to die!" Kneeling, Naelin wrapped her arms around them both and held them.
"Nicely done," the guard said.
The champion swore. "I never claimed to be a people person."
Naelin murmured into their hair. "Queen Daleina didn't die, did she? They want to teach me how not to die. They want to show me how to keep you safe. I won't let them make me an heir. I won't let them take me from you."
They cried as if their hearts were breaking, and she felt her own heart twisting. All she wanted to do was kiss their damp cheeks and heal what this day had shredded inside them. She wanted to knit their lives back together, take them home, pretend none of this had happened, erase it from their memories. "Don't go, don't go, don't go!" they cried.
I don't want to!
From the corner, Corinda, with her voice quivering, said, "You have to go with them, Naelin. Renet can-"
"I've left him," Naelin said firmly. Speaking the words out loud made it official. As she said the words, she felt her body shudder once and then she felt calm. At least there was one decision she was certain about.
"Witnessed, and gladly," Corinda said. "Leave Erian and Llor with me. I'll watch them as if they were my own-"
"No, Mama, we aren't leaving you!" Erian shouted, with Llor echoing her.
Naelin fixed her eyes on the champion. Every fiber of her body screamed, Don't leave them. "Will they be safe here, with Corinda?"
The champion hesitated-she saw the moment of hesitation. "Yes."
She narrowed her eyes, the way she looked at Llor when he claimed to have brushed his teeth but still had bits of his dinner stuck to them. "You're lying."
He shrugged-at least he respected her enough to be called out on the lie. "It's possible the spirits will realize they're yours. Some are . . . vengeful. But I can promise they will be as safe here as anyplace in Aratay, and safer than they would be with you. In fact, the less contact you have with them, the safer they'll be."
"You really are horrible with people," the guard said to the champion.
He glared at her. "You can do better?"
Naelin wanted to turn and walk out of the shop. No, she wanted to run. Far and fast, beyond Aratay if she had to, she'd take her children as far as necessary to keep them safe. "You are asking me to give up my children? On the chance they might be safer? But you can't promise their safety."
"No one can promise safety, except the queen," the guard said. It was a saying that Renthians often repeated, usually when people were about to begin a journey. She said it like rote, but the familiar words sank into Naelin. "Life is unsafe," the guard continued. "That's why we need you. You have the power-"